Location: A series of fires are located on both sides of the Yukon River within the Galena Fire Management Zone and the western end of the Tanana Zone, stretching over 150 river miles from east to west. The major firefighting efforts at this time are concentrated on 3 fires on the south side of the Yukon River near the village of Ruby and on 1 fire near the village of Nulato.

Nulato Fires: Firefighting efforts in the Nulato area remained focused on continuing mop up and extinguishing small areas of flare ups in the interior of the fire on Saturday. Firefighters are reporting fewer and fewer “smokes” in the new town area. There was small growth on Saturday on the northeast and south sides of the fire. Current fire modeling indicates reduced potential for spread over the next 14 days for the Nulato Fire.
Training for local crews on chainsaw technique and safety is being conducted by the Incident Management Team Division Supervisors in Koyukuk.

Ruby Fires: Long term analysts and fire behavior specialists flew over the Ruby area fires on Saturday. They observed growth on the south and southeast flanks along with interior reburning on the Big Creek Two Fire. The Big Creek Two Fire is burning underneath Black Spruce which continues to set up the potential for reburn. The Bruno Fire experienced limited growth on the west and has moved nearly all the way around Boston Dome. Overall, it was a moderate fire day because of smoke from the Tanana area fires. The White Mountain crew is conducting suppression and mop up operations on the Ruby Slough fire. Structure assessment and protection activities are continuing throughout the area and will be prioritized based on long term analysis modeling. To date, structure protection has been completed on approximately 17 remote structures. The public is urged to limit travel on Poorman Road to minimize conflicts with the firefighting forces.

Other Galena Zone Fires: The Galena Zone BLM personnel are closely monitoring other fires in the zone. Structure protection plans are in place for any fires that threaten private property.

There is a Notice to Airmen in effect for a 25 mile radius around the village of Ruby. For other areas, please see and avoid air traffic around fires.

Weather: The fires are experiencing limited humidity recovery at night. Humidity will be in the 37 to 73% range today. Fire behavior analysts have found that 39% and lower is the trigger which supports large fire growth, so fire behavior may be moderate again on Sunday. Isolated thunderstorms will continue to be a possibility. Conditions will be cloudy with a chance for showers and temperatures will be in the 75-80 degree range. Slightly higher relative humidities are expected along with cloudy skies and smoke for the next few days.